The Inkwell is an entirely non-profit entity, so all of our workshops, publications, and readings are free and staffed by selected Inkwell members. These people make Inkwell function and help build an exceptional literary community in Shanghai. If you need to contact any of them, please send an email addressed to that particular Inkwell member at submissions@inkwell.asia.
Founder
General Director
Dr. Ryan Thorpe
Ryan is an associate teaching professor at the University of Michigan-Shanghai Jiao Tong University and director of its writing program. He publishes regularly, and his book, Teaching Second Language Creative Writing, was published by Routledge in 2021. His trilogy of novels The Willows, Arcadian Midnight, and The Wardens was published in 2023 from Aethon Books.
Beijing
Mario
Guangzhou
Darcie Flansburg
Darcie Flansburg loves teaching rhetoric, writing, and the occasional yoga class. She is an English Language and Literature teacher with a fondness for writing poetry and memoirs. A former journalist and thespian she has published many news, arts, and academic articles, as well as poems in a few Lit Mags. She has an MA in English rhetoric, composition, and digital media studies, and hopes to eventually earn an MFA in nonfiction creative writing. You can find her on Wechat or Instagram @MsFlansburg
Kuala Lumpur
Hussin Alkeder
Hussin Alkeder’s life journey spans Damascus, Dubai, and Shanghai, immersing him in diverse cultures. His quest for understanding led him to study Psychology in Kuala Lumpur, reflecting intellectual curiosity and a passion for exploring the human mind. His life’s odyssey promises to captivate readers with its rich cultural tapestry.
Kunming
Carolyn Johnson
Nanjing
Felix Campbell
Felix teaches advanced creative writing, critical thinking and psychology at Nanjing Foreign Language School. In writing, he enjoys learning and growing in writing skill in group settings, with fellow writers or with students. He loves wordplay, high fantasy, and emotive creativity. He is currently studying philosophy at Madingley Hall.
Ningbo
Dom Armstrong
Dom Armstrong is a poet, writer, pseudo-musician, human, educator, and fan of creativity. He is also the organiser of Inkwell Ningbo.
You can find his work in anthologies, magazines, postcards, and the back of napkins. Dom advocates for the multimodality and inclusivity of the arts; everyone and anyone is welcome!
Ningbo & Shanghai
Organizer, Events, &
Development Coach
Lori Fazzino
Lori Fazzino is a recovering academic turned kindergarten teacher, aspiring memoirist, and trauma poet. She is over enthusiastic about wine, KTV, and writing about her life. Formerly of Shanghai, Lori now resides in Ningbo and is Co-organizer of Inkwell Ningbo.
Online Workshop
Laura White
Laura has an academic background in Liberal Arts, Arts Management and Coaching and Personal Leadership. She came to Beijing three years ago as Middle School ELA Teacher, as part of the University of Columbia’s Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. She is an avid meditation and mindfulness practitioner, and in her free time loves to meet and delve into deep, meaningful conversations with old and new friends.
Sanya
Quentin Yang
Seoul
Rita Andreetti
Rita is a versatile and passionate writer who has spent over 12 years immersed in the diverse cultures of Asia. She primarily works as a film critic for Taxidrivers.it and occasionally collaborates with Screen International. During her 10 years in Nanjing, China, she directed her first documentary feature, The Observer, a project she holds close to her heart. Inspired by her time at Inkwell Nanjing, when Rita moved to Seoul, she founded Inkwell Seoul to further her love for storytelling and cultural exchange. Her ideas buzz with restless energy, like a fly trapped under glass.
Shanghai
Circle of Sages
Michael Holt
Shanghai
Fiction Workshop
& Sunday Scribbles
Paula Willis
Paula hails from the U.K. and can generally be found writing queer genre fiction (fantasy, sci-fi, and fairytales). They have had short stories published in anthologies and online magazines, and are working on editing a YA novel. They run Sunday Scribbles, a casual writing and meet-up session, as well as the Fiction workshop.
Shanghai
Nonfiction Workshop
Natcher Pruett
Natcher Pruett is a four-time Shanghai Disneyland annual passholder and soon-to-be student of the Chinese language at Fudan University whose passions include theme parks, the Chinese box office, and writing about a range of topics including theme parks and the Chinese box office. He dabbles in fiction, poetry, and screenwriting; his Inkwell responsibilities include handling administrative tasks for the Scripts workshop, organizing Circle of Sages, and presiding in a hopefully non-dictatorial way over the Creative Nonfiction workshop.
Shanghai
Poetry Discussion
Dr. Rania Katavouta
Dr. Rania Katavouta is from Greece. She holds a doctorate in Modern Greek Poetry and she teacheslanguage and literature in Shanghai International Studies University. In 2019 she published her first poetry collection in Greek, named Ballarina mes sti nihta(Ballerina into the night), ed. Panoptikon.
Shanghai
Poetry Workshop
Marc Belisle
Shanghai
Reading Club
Michelle Hu
Shanghai
Reading Club
Zhou Sigong
Shanghai
Screenwriting Workshop
Fintan Kearney
A writer and director, Fintan has been in the world of commercials and short form films for over a decade, creating work for a few of the top global brands in fashion, technology and beauty.
Now based in Shanghai, his journey began at the National Film School IADT, Ireland.
Relocating to the UK, he worked primarily in London on BBC documentaries and brand films. Shortly after he joined QVC’s bespoke internal content team, where he was part of a small unit pitching, producing and directing TVCs and brand films.
Following that, Fintan joined a venture capital funded startup as Head of Content for all video content globally.
Now in Shanghai, and with a number of projects in various stages of development and post-production, Fintan’s focus remains in capturing the authentic textures of the human journey and illuminating the shared human experience, exploring emotions and truths into stories that resonate universally.
Shanghai
Table Reads
Boya Xu
Boya Xu works as market research manager, and she is very hardworking because she is Chinese. She is also a theater actress, director and producer. She has acting experience in China, Germany and South Korea.
Shanghai
Translation Workshop
Jennifer Wu
Jennifer Wu is a Shanghai-based translator and interpreter. She is a graduate from Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS), California. While studying in America for MA in Translation, she produced a translation of selected poems by Hsi Murong, which were taken from Seven-Li Fragrance and Youth Without Regret. She also focused on the study of Contemporary Literature and Charles Dickens in Context while formerly enrolled in a visiting program at Worcester College at University of Oxford. In 2019, she interpreted for James Beard Award winner Jessica B. Harris, whose book “High on the Hog” was the basis for a 2021 Netflix documentary.
Shanghai
Youth Writing Project
Patti McAlpine
Patti is a writer/teacher from Texas and has produced stories for Children Radio Programs. She has been involved with several writer workshops and organizations. Presently, she teaches English in Shanghai and is working on a play and memoir novel.
Shenzhen
Darcy Fisher
Darcy Fisher is a published poet in China and USA. She is actively involved in the literary and art scene in Shenzhen, China. Poetry is her passion. She writes to write, like we breathe air to live.
Shenzhen
Karina Gehl
Caffeinate!
Suzhou
Liz Jacquinot
Liz is an elementary school English teacher in Suzhou. She has a bachelor’s degree in creative writing, emphasis in poetry (plus a useless bonus BA) and an MFA in creative writing and media arts, emphasis in nonfiction. Liz is an avid lover of baking and dogs but never baking dogs. In her writing, she enjoys playing with rhythm and discovering the limitlessness and frustrations of expressing oneself through words.
Xiamen
Sam Keir
Sam Keir (he/him) is an writer, editor, and educator, but the order of these roles depends on the day of the week! He has published a number of short stories, and he enjoys engaging with the writing community online and at the monthly Inkwell fiction writing workshop he runs in Xiamen. Sam’s mission is to help more community members share their stories and have their voices heard.